David Hasselhoff, the executive producer and star of Baywatch, makes no apologies for what the series is: a show with a lot of beautiful and scantily clad people running around on the beach. And he does not need to.
No matter how critics pan the show (it's been dubbed 'Babewatch' and 'Brawatch') and moralists scorn it, Hasselhoff, who also plays lifeguard Mitch Buchannon, is laughing all the way to the bank.
Baywatch has the distinction of being the most-watched television series around the world, pulling in a billion viewers in 142 countries and 195 American cities every week, claims the publicity material.
And as if that wasn't enough, Hasselhoff is also working on Baywatch Nights, a spin-off which focuses on what the lifeguards get up to after the sun sets.
'Baywatch is everything. We try to appeal to all audiences,' says Hasselhoff. 'We have moral issues for the housewives; they love the idea of Mitch bringing up a son on his own. Men like seeing females in bathing suits and women like seeing men in them.
'Clinton, Mandela and [Princess] Diana watch us.
